WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Railroad Administrator, the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and representatives of rail labor and management appeared before a Congressional subcommittee on June 6 to outline needed safety improvements in the rail industry.
The hearing by the U.S. House Railroads Subcommittee for an update on general trends and needs in rail safety was prompted, in part, by recent train derailments across the nation.
“As the son of a life-long railroad engineer, I have seen first-hand the hard work and dedication associated with working for a railroad,” said Subcommittee Chairman Jack Quinn (R-NY). “However, accidents do occur. Derailments, unfortunately, are part of railroading, but I am committed to making sure the government, railroads and rail employees work together to make sure we have the safest rail system in the world.
“In general, the number of reported rail accidents has declined over the past 10 years. But, in today’s society of 24-hour news stations, even the smallest accidents are thoroughly scrutinized by the media. And that is not necessarily a bad thing.
“Perception is often more important than reality. When the public perceives the rail industry to be unsafe, it is our job to conduct hearings like this and, if necessary, address the problems through legislation. Today’s hearing was intended to convey to the public that train operations remain safe for passengers, crews and the neighborhoods and communities they serve,” said Quinn.
Administrator Alan Rutter of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) addressed concerns raised by recent derailments.
“The recent railroad accidents of concern to the Committee must be fully examined for any lessons they can teach about future accident prevention. However, those accidents are not an indication of fundamental safety deficiencies in the railroad industry,” Rutter told the Subcommittee.
Rutter went on to highlight a number of areas in which FRA is addressing safety, including improvements to equipment, hazardous materials transportation, and security, as well as decreasing the role of human factors in accidents.
“Fatigue on the part of operating employees has long been an important safety issue,” said Rutter. “It is often difficult to prove the exact role that fatigue may have played in a specific accident or what role fatigue plays in accident causation as a general matter.”
Referring to industry and government efforts to manage fatigue, Rutter added, “FRA will continue to monitor the results from these various cooperative arrangements and research projects on fatigue and, as the need arises, take relevant regulatory action and/or recommend legislative action.”
Several other issues raised by Administrator Rutter were also addressed by Marion Blakey, Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). One of these issues was track safety, and Blakey cited several accidents investigated by the Board in which substandard track conditions were a significant contributor.
“The NTSB believes that the FRA needs to increase track inspections, and recommends that the FRA modify its track inspection program to consider the volume of hazardous materials shipments made over the tracks in determining the frequency and type of track inspections,” said Blakey.
Blakey and Rutter both discussed the deployment of Positive Train Control (PTC) systems in order to boost safety. PTC systems can help avoid accidents by automatically slowing or stopping a train if the crew misses or does not comply with a signal. The systems are on NTSB’s Most Wanted list of safety recommendations, and Blakey reiterated the Board’s position on employing PTCs.
“Without the installation of PTC systems, preventable collision accidents will continue to occur and will continue to place railroad employees and the traveling public at risk,” said Blakey.
She also discussed the dangers of grade crossings to trains and motorists, urging their elimination where possible, and better warning devices where elimination is not feasible.
“We are working closely with the FRA to increase its current recommendation acceptance rate of about 71.5 percent, and I plan to meet tomorrow with Administrator Rutter to discuss which of the open safety recommendations can and should be accomplished within the next two years,” said Blakey.